Galaxy S8 Clones Now Available As More Leaks Stir

Samsung did not show off the Galaxy S8 at this year’s Mobile World Congress like it has in previous years with the phone’s predecessors, but it seems that has only served to whet fans’ appetites for the phone even more. Leaks about it keep coming out, and apparently, there’s now a clone of the phone available for purchase in China, if you just can’t wait for the real thing.

Image Credit: Samsung Display via YouTube (Screen grab)

Chinese-made clones of the Galaxy S8

Smartphone manufacturers in China have taken the images and details about the Galaxy S8 that have supposedly been leaked and made what they believe to be a clone of the device, which isn’t even available yet. The official release date is said to be April 28, which is another delay from the previously planned launch date. The big reveal is reportedly set for March 29 in New York.

Images of the fake Galaxy S8 were posted on Weibo by someone who said they bought it from China’s Huaqiang North Market a well-known market for electronic devices. Tech Times noted some differences between what we’re expecting with the real Galaxy S8 and the fake, although of course the more obvious features, like the big display with thin bezels and rounded edges, seem to have made it to the fake.

The fake lacks a Home button on the front, and the fingerprint sensor is on the back next to the camera, just like we’ve seen in photos that are supposedly of the real phone.

Differences between the real and fake Galaxy S8

One difference is that the LED flash and the fingerprint sensor have been flip-flopped, with the flash on the right and the sensor to the left of the camera, but these positions are opposite of what we’ve seen in the purported leaked images. The speaker grille also has a different pattern, and instead of the USB-C connector we’re expecting on the S8, there’s a microUSB port on the knock-off version.

After the device is switched on, it becomes evident that the display has a black border on the top and bottom, essentially making it smaller than what you see when just looking at the screen with it turned off. The real Galaxy S8 is also believed to have a new physical button added for ease of accessing Samsung’s rumored virtual assistant Bixby, although of course we couldn’t expect the clone to copy Bixby and have the button for it.

New images of the Galaxy S8, S8 Plus leaked

We’ve been hearing for a long time that Samsung will release a Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus and even seen images and videos that are supposedly of the phones. Now SlashLeaks has published some more photos showing both of them. The smaller one is expected to have a standard 5.7-inch display, while its bigger sibling is believed to have a 6.2-inch screen. The smaller one is the same size as the recalled Galaxy Note 7, making the Plus-sized model seem much larger since the Note has been Samsung’s biggest phone for a long time.